France: 2/06

Feature Article from Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car

Venturi Goes Racing
A few months ago, the International pages here at HS&EC brought news of a rebirth of the Venturi car company. Gone are the sporty yet understated mid-engine GTs-like the Atlantique (pictured)-that made the French manufacturer a Gallic alternative to Porsche. In their place is an electric sports car, now made in Monaco, with a planned price in excess of $600,000 for a two-seater with a range of about 200 miles.

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The new-look Venturi company might have realized that those numbers-specifically the one beginning with a six, followed by five zeros-do not add up very well. So the company is dusting off its old gasoline-powered race cars for a little bit of friendly FIA GT3 class competition in 2006. There is no better place to prove your product, and gain some respect, than in the throes of competition. The original pre-electric Venturis bravely battled bigger-budgeted rivals in GT racing with a modicum of success throughout the 1990s. This latest model, dubbed Venturi Heritage GT3, "kept the graphic lineage" of the old cars but "modernized the mechanics," according to Venturi's PR blurb. Translate that to mean that the cars look like Venturi's old racers, but needed their guts ripped out to update them for the new GT3 spec. A 450-hp, 4.2-liter supercharged engine and six-speed sequential gearbox motivate the 1,100-kg (2,400-pound) race car.
Clio is Car of the Year
Narrowly beating the Volkswagen's new Passat, the new Renault Clio scored a surprise win for Car of the Year 2006. The award is given annually, and this is the first time in its 43-year history that a car is a repeat winner (the original Clio won in 1991). A panel of eight jurors deemed that the new version of the French economy car has grown up to be a segment leader, with this latest generation model being noted for improvements in quality, space and comfort. It has also grown out too, as some criticism of the Clio centered on substantial increases in weight and length when compared to the outgoing model.
Nevertheless, Renault will be pleased that its bread-and-butter hatch managed to best not only the Passat, but also the city-car triumvirate of Citroën C1/ Peugeot 107/ Toyota Aygo, which were widely tipped as COTY hopefuls due to the innovative joint effort between PSA and Toyota that sees all three cars built at the same plant in Poland. On sale in Europe since last October, the Clio range will be augmented with hotter versions from Renault's sporting arm, Renaultsport, in 2006.
Renault Megane Trophy Cup
The Renault Megane Trophy 225 is a darn good hot-hatch, with aggressive looks, loads of power and great road-handling. Thing is, we'd trade a week with a Megane Trophy 225 for one hour behind the wheel of a Eurocup Megane Trophy race car. Hugging the ground like an amorous leech, and dominated by huge 18-inch thin-spoke alloy wheels, a Eurocup Megane is as wild-looking as it is completely illegal for road use. The tubular steel chassis supports a specially tuned 3.5-liter Nissan V-6-remember, Renault owns a controlling stake in the Japanese manufacturer-mounted aft of the driver. The engine delivers 350hp to the rear wheels via a six-speed semi-automatic and steering wheel-mounted paddles. Eurocup Meganes are brutal looking beasties that should be an absolute blast to drive. Attention Renaultsport PR, you have our e-mail, right? Look for the Eurocup Megane series to pick up where its successful 2005 season left off. Seven race weekends are planned throughout Europe, with a maximum of 35 cars permitted at each event. If you can scrounge up 120,000 (about $150,000) for a season, then good luck to you-and give us a call!
The SECMA Fun
It's a tough call. Are the vehicles produced by SECMA (Societe d'Etude et de Construction Automobile) a Mad Max meets Miami Beach vision of a city runabout? Or are they more golf cart than car, something a Teletubby would use for grocery runs? Manufactured in the town of Aniche, in the north of France, SECMA's vehicles come in a variety of shapes, colors and engine specifications. However, each model is badged as a "Fun." So, based on name alone, score one point for the Teletubby theory. The most grown-up of the range is the Fun Extre'm (pictured). The two-seat roadster has a tubular steel chassis, double wishbone and coilover shock suspension in the front and trailing arms with coilovers out back. Mounted behind driver and passenger is a wee 505cc, four-stroke two-cylinder, delivering all of 21hp to the rear wheels. Power-oversteer is likely not on the menu with the Fun Extre'm. Still, the car (cart?) has a beach-buggy look that, to our eyes, nicely straddles the line between cuddly and cool. Other models have a more de-contented Smart car look to them, a bit like they were delivered from the factory after traveling only halfway down the production line. The Fun Tech 50 has, you guessed it, a minuscule 50cc, two-stroke single cylinder, while the Fun Elec runs on a 36-volt D.C. motor with a to-the-office-and-possibly-back-again range of approximately 30 miles. Interestingly, these are being marketed as urban-runabouts, for city dwellers tasked with looking for large parking spaces and weary of steep fuel prices. Depending on the market, SECMA vehicles can be classified as mopeds and are exempt from city congestion charges like those found in London.

This article originally appeared in the February, 2006 issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car.